John M. Chu has transferred Act 1 of the theatrical phenomenon Wicked to the big screen with an abundance of imagination and vitality and two award-worthy performances that will make everyone associated with this behemoth even wealthier than they already are.
There is no arguing with success, and the 2003 Broadway musical based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 iconoclastic recrafting of the L. Frank Baum 1900 classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a defense of the much-maligned Wicked Witch has been nothing but successful, despite receiving weak applause from theater critics early on. It received a handful of Tony Awards and quite likely will be among the list of Oscar nominations, if not wins, in 2025, in both performance and technical categories.
Why do I say "if not wins"? I think even if I set aside the endurance of Baum's venerable story and the 1939 film (which has a much more memorable score, BTW), there is something familiar about Chu's directing choices, i.e., the inestimable opulence of the production design and the hugely bankable leads and stunt cameos. It's all stunning work but ... hmmm.
There is no question in my mind that film and stage diva Cynthia Erivo and pop songstress Ariana Grande-Butera, both diminutive powerhouses, are commanding presences in the picture who can handle the stratospheric score by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin). And the show's story of fraudulence, injustice, manipulation and vengeance is even fresher now than it was 20 years ago.
The huge ensemble of supporting players is delightful to watch in the big numbers -- as they usually are in such films -- but there is so much book here that I wished there was more music and less talk.
Having seen a touring company of Wicked some years back at the Fox in Atlanta, I know how grand a show it can be and the film is both more and less grand. It's a wonder but is it wonderful?
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